Match Race ~ 1968 Road Runner '383' vs. 1966 Mercury Cyclone GT '390'

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If that Cyclone is stock, I can guarantee that it will float the valves at about 4800 rpm and bend a pushrod. My buddy had one back in the late sixties and this was a common issue with the stock FE engine valve train.
 
Shipping Weight

1968 Road Runner '383' ~ Coupe ........ #3424 lbs.

1966 Cyclone GT '390' ~ Hardtop ........ #3315 lbs.

Ah yes, the 390 GT did have some problems with the Valves @ 4800 RPM's.

The 390 GT Camshaft
* Type.......... Hydraulic
* Lift........... .481"/.490"
* Duration.... 270*/290*
* Overlap..... 46*
 
Ooh... another good one. Thanks 69 cuda! Thats a pretty wild stock cam. Shame the valvetrain is better suited for the f-100
 
barbee6043 said:
as I remember the 390 was regarded as a "dog" back in its day.... maybe it was biased!????
Click to expand...

That Depends on the 'Drivetrain'.

You could get a 1966 Mercury Cyclone GT '390' with;

* Closed-Ratio Transmission .... 2.32 ~ 1.69 ~ 1.29 ~ 1.00
* 3.89 Gears

Those '2' items made a World-of-Difference in the 390.

Back-in-the-Day {1966}, add on a set of Headers and 7" Slicks, and you
could run 14.10's @ 98 MPH while classed in 'C/Stock'.

Very respectable.
 
I participated in one street race (the only time I did not use a sanctioned drag strip) as a junior or senior at Palma High School. Half my class followed us out to Hitchcock Road or a similar one out among the lettuce fields surrounding Salinas, California. This took place in 1972 or 1973. My classmate was driving a green Mercury Cyclone. I assume it had a 390 automatic, but I can't remember the year. I know it had a fairly steeply raked rear window. At first he refused my suggestion that the winner take $20.00 from the loser, but finally he agreed. At the start line, a large varsity football player accompanied me as a co-pilot and witness, and someone jumped in with the driver of the Cyclone to balance out the weight. I was driving a 1971 Plymouth Roadrunner, stock 383 automatic (low compression-rated 300 HP gross/250 net), with 3.23 open rear, air-grabber hood, G60-15 Goodyear polyglass tires all around, and thrush mufflers. A classmate signaled the start of the race, and the other classmates were all parked behind us as spectators. The Roadrunner jumped out ahead about a car length right away, and held that same lead all the way to 90 or 100 mph, whatever speed we decided to finish at (the street was not marked off for the 1/4 mile). I collected my twenty bucks and went home. The first time I raced at Fremont Raceway at a later date, I won a trophy offered for rookie bracket racers (once you won the trophy in that "class' you were disqualified from participating in that rookie competition any more). My E.T's were very low 15's @ maybe 92 mph.
 
I'm going with the RoadRunner.
My buddy with 1966 GTA Fairlane ran 14.80's, which I didn't think was that bad.
It was bone stock, no idea what gear was in it, but it was a 4V 390.
 
1966 Mercury Cyclone GT '390'

Gear Ratio's
* 3.25
* 3.50
* 3.89
* 4.11

Most of the 1966 {390/335 HP} C-6 Automatics received >
3.25 Gears {Open-Rear}

And most of the 4-Speeds came through with the Wide-Ratio Transmission {2.78 ~ 1.93 ~ 1.36 ~ 1.00} along with the
'standard' 3.25 Gears.

The 390 was listed with;
* 335 HP @ 4800 RPM's
* 425 Ft/Lbs. of Torque @ 3200 RPM's

Draw back here, was that the 390 came thru with a #4150 Holley 600 CFM
{1 9/16" x 1 9/16" > Throttle-Plates}.

Most of the Ford Boys said that the Holley was too small for the throaty
runner-ports in the Intake Manifold and C60E-R Cylinder Heads.
 
A 428 Cobra Jet was also "rated" at 335 hp and we weren't even close to being afraid
of those ('68 383 RR Torqueflite & best friend's stone stock '69 RR 4-spd).

Now, a good friend's '69 SCJ428 with BIG solid cam, 2-4's and JR cross-over headers
with a 4.30 9" differential is another story......until it shortly thereafter blew up huge.
 
Was never a ford guy in the old days. Couldnt tell an FE head from an XYZ. How much of a difference between a 906 and the 390 head?
 
fratzog lover said:
Was never a ford guy in the old days. Couldnt tell an FE head from an XYZ. How much of a difference between a 906 and the 390 head?
Click to expand...

A good bit. The 390 heads were all quench style. Where Ford screwed the pooch was, they never took advantage of it. Had they built those engines with zero deck flat top pistons, it would have been a whole different ball game.

....and if bullfrogs had wings, they wouldn't bump their ***.
 
same horsepower at a lower rpm. sorry but I think the ford wins.
 
1966 Ford/Mercury 390/335 HP

Cylinder Heads............ #C60E-R
Intake ........................ 2.037" .... Port Size > 2.34" x 1.34"
Exhaust....................... 1.560" .... Port Size > 1.84" x 1.28"
Combustion Chamber.... 63.60 CC

Compression Ratio ....... 10.5-1
Deck Height ............... {-.0005"}
Piston Type.................. Flat w/notches
 
This is from the 1966 NHRA Winternationals Guide

1966 Mercury Cyclone GT '390' ......... Shipping Weight = #3315 lbs.

3315 lbs. ~ 335 HP = 9.89 Wt/Hp = {C/Stock}

In 1966 NHRA Stock Class >

The Cyclone GT 390 was permitted to use the 'Police Interceptor'
{#C6AE-9254-H} Aluminum Dual-Plane Intake Manifold.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/attachments/zzzzzzw6-jpg.733899/
 
Me being a relic from that era I can only tell you from memory that driving a new 1970 Swinger 340 dead stock, neither of those vehicles were a problem to the Dart. Stop light street races were very common then, and so there were many opportunities to "compare". The Ford 390, as someone has just said, were considered a dog, even in the Mustangs. The 428CJ was a whole different story though. I was pretty cocky with the Swinger because I had found that it was much faster and quicker than I had realized when I bought it. So the first time a Mach 1 pulled up beside me at a light I saw the "428" and thought "oh well" just a bigger 390. Figured I might have him by 1 -2 car lengths instead of 3 -4. Taillights. Very embarrassing. We had a drag strip near Toronto at the time and I saw the guy out there a few weeks later. He had more than 1/2 second on the Dart; both cars dead stock. The 390 Mustangs were low 15 cars, not sure what the Cyclone/Torinos would have run but probably a tenth or two slower.
 
Car Life {April 1966}

Tested a 1966 Mercury Comet Cyclone GT '390'
* C-6 Automatic
* 3.25 Gears 'Limited-Slip'
* 7.75 x 14" Tires {Firestone 500}

Blasted 15.20's @ 90 MPH

Shift Points
* 1st to 2nd ..... 4800 RPM
* 2nd to 3rd .... 4600 RPM

Though the 390 had good low-end Torque and pulled hard to mid-range,
the Hydraulic Lifters limited attainable RPM on Top-End and the 390
failed to pull hard over the last 300 Feet.

http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?&id=HN.608032241220585990&w=300&h=300&c=0&pid=1.9&rs=0&p=0
 
1966 NHRA Winternationals

Mercury sent '8' factory-backed Comet Cyclone GT 390's out to the
NHRA Winternationals with a top 'driver' for each car.

They competed in C/S and C/SA.

They laid down times from 12.95 to 13.20.

The Cyclones included;
* 4.57 Gears
* Tricked Suspension
* Tuned Headers
* Prepped 390 Engines with 'Police Interceptor' Intakes
* 7" Goodyear Slicks
 
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